If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to infuse more efficiency into your daily routines and duties. Don't you wish you had more free time?
I've discovered 7 key ways to improve your efficiency in the completion of any project. Implement these, and watch your To Do list shrink and your Get to Do list grow!
1. Do things ahead of time.
Doing things before you normally do them, or before you're expected to do them, keeps you from having to do them later. If you complete your task early, you won't have to worry about doing it later. Science is not sure how that works, but it does!
2. Do things later.
On the other hand, if you don't have time to complete your project ahead of time, and facing having to do it is detracting from your leisure time or time you need for other projects, do it later. By putting it off till another time, you don't have to do it now. If someone calls you a procrastinator, just tell them you are merely prioritizing.
3. Do less.
One way to cut down on your activity is to stop doing activities. Either look at your To Do list and think of ways to half-do some of the items, or take your To Do list and tear it in half. You now have two To Do lists, but at least now each one is more manageable.
4. Do it together.
Studies have shown that the time it takes one person to do something can be cut in half if two people are doing it. (This does not apply to tandem bicycling, ironically enough, which may go more quickly than bicycling alone, but which is really lame and should not be done.) So ask for someone to help you. Unless the helper is a small child or a comatose person (of any age), your task will take up less of your time, particularly if you can get your helper to do more than you're doing.
5. Don't do it.
The most efficient way to get through troublesome projects is to not do them. Instead of tearing your To Do list in half, why not set it on fire? Or put it in the recycling bin. Now you've made the Earth more efficient too!
7. Do it faster.
When you do things more quickly, you will finish in less time than you would if you didn't. Your project may not be done adequately, but it will be done, and that's what really counts.
8. Do it harder.
Turn off all distractions, get into an attitude of singleminded focus, and work harder. Break a sweat. If you work harder on your projects, when some loser asks you, "Are you workin' hard or hardly workin'?" you won't be distracted enough to smack them. (But if you do, make sure you smack them harder than you normally would in order to save time.) If you cannot bring yourself to work harder, just furrow your brow and sigh a lot. This will give others the impression that you are working very hard.
You're welcome.
Jared Wilson is the pastor and co-founder of Element, a missional Christian community in
Nashville, Tennessee, and an award-winning writer whose articles, essays, and
short stories have appeared in numerous publications.
Jared's first book, The Unvarnished Jesus, releases Fall 2009 from Kregel.
A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, he lives outside
Nashville with his wife and two daughters.
Encounter Jared's passion for the ongoing reformation of the evangelical church
almost daily at www.gospeldrivenchurch.com.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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